About Sydney Story Factory

IGNITING THE SPARK of creativity

The Sydney Story Factory is a not-for-profit creative writing centre for young people based in Redfern, Sydney. We believe that all Australian young people, no matter their background, should be given opportunities to develop the communication skills and flexibility of thinking that will allow them to live their lives to their full potential and flourish in a rapidly changing world.

Our priority is marginalised young people - those most at risk of losing confidence in their writing and switching off at school. We light the spark of creativity and help them find their voice.

Programs are for young people aged 7 to 17, in primary and high school, and are designed by creative writing and literacy experts to:

improve young people's written and oral communication skills;

enhance self-confidence and self-efficacy;

nurture creativity and empathy; and

deepen engagement with learning.

To find out more about the many creative writing and storytelling programs we run, please go to our workshops page.

Why we Do What we Do

Strong writing skills are one of the foundations of a successful life, yet marginalised young people, particularly those from Indigenous and non-English speaking backgrounds, have significantly - often catastrophically - lower literacy levels than their peers.

Meanwhile, in a rapidly changing world, a crucial part of any child’s education should be learning to think flexibly and adapt to new situations. Creativity becomes vital.

All Sydney Story Factory programs are designed by our expert storytelling team to develop young people's writing and communication skills and enhance their creativity. We maximise this impact by using our large corps of trained volunteer tutors to give young people the one-on-one attention that even the best teachers struggle to provide. Our storytelling team lead all workshops, and within that structured framework volunteer tutors give young people the personal attention to their writing that we believe can be truly transformative.

Creativity in Education

A growing body of international research demonstrates that quality arts-based learning experiences can significantly improve both literacy rates and academic engagement and attainment, while also providing many other social and emotional benefits.

Our programs are created with reference to the work of James Catterall, and others, in this area. We also respond to work by Tony Vinson et al showing education to be the single biggest factor in alleviating disadvantage.

Our Status

The Sydney Story Factory is registered as an incorporated entity. We are a public benevolent institution with DGR1 tax status. All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

The Sydney Story Factory acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of the land on which the SSF is built, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. As we share our own knowledge, teaching, and learning practices within this space may we also pay respect to the knowledge embedded forever within the Aboriginal Custodianship of this Country.